Global Criminal Media Expert

When the FBI Comes Calling…^®

July 1, 2007
By Romina Maurino

Black's lack of Cdn citizenship could keep him out of 'Club Fed' if convicted

CHICAGO (CP) - If a jury convicts Conrad Black on any of the 13 charges he faces in the United States, his choice to renounce his Canadian citizenship may prevent him from serving time at a minimum security "Club Fed" style institution, says a U.S. legal expert.

"The fact that somebody has a green card won't make a difference on sentencing" but it may affect the security level of the prison Black could be sent to if convicted, said Douglas McNabb, a senior principal with McNabb Associates, a Houston law firm specializing in international extradition.

"They (would) put him at a higher-security one" than an American citizen because his status as a foreigner makes him ineligible for a minimum security prison.

Minimum security prisons in the U.S. are dubbed "Club Fed" because they are like "camp (or) a college dormitory," added McNabb, who recently acted as an expert witness at an extradition hearing involving three former Enron Corp. bankers in the U.K.

Black, who gave up his Canadian citizenship in 2001 during a messy legal battle with then-prime minister Jean Chretien in order to get a seat in Britain's House of Lords, is awaiting a verdict in Chicago on his fraud and racketeering trial.

He has not been convicted of any crime but faces decades in jail.

U.S. prosecutors allege he and three other former Hollinger International executives orchestrated a scheme to pocket about US$60 million in non-compete payments negotiated with buyers when that company sold newspaper assets, money that should have gone to shareholders. They also allege Black fraudulently misused about $20 million in company funds on perks such as lavish parties and trips and a Manhattan apartment.

If Black is convicted, McNabb said he is more likely to be sent to what is termed a low-security prison, which is not as secure as a medium or high security one, but still has barb wire and is a controlled environment.

It's also a place where Black would mix with people from all walks of life, including white-collar criminals, drug dealers and murderers. Violent offenders often get transferred to low-security prisons from medium-or high-security ones after demonstrating good behaviour.

As a Canadian, Black could have requested a transfer to a Canadian jail if convicted in the United States - and possibly serve a lighter sentence like his former partner and star prosecution witness David Radler is expected to.

Black has said in recent months that he is trying to regain citizenship and that process had been delayed by the criminal proceedings.

In September, he said he was working through "normal channels" to regain his citizenship, and described his status as a "temporary resident" of Canada. He is however, still listed as a member of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada.

His lawyer, Eddie Greenspan, would not comment on the status of Black's citizenship, but told reporters after the jury went out last week that his client never stopped considering himself a Canadian - despite his "brawl" with Chretien.

"I don't think that . . . he ever, for one minute, gave up the notion (and thought) that he was no longer a Canadian," Greenspan said.

But Vancouver immigration lawyer Dennis McCrea said Black's description as a "temporary resident" means he is a visitor to Canada and may not have even reached the designation of permanent resident - a prerequisite to become a citizen.

A permanent resident must spend three out of four years in the country before becoming a citizen. Black is a British citizen but lives in Toronto. His wife, Barbara Amiel Black, was also born in Canada.

"If a person has gone to trial and been found not guilty, the Canadian government would respect that court decision," McCrea said.

The criminal charges in Chicago are likely to have delayed the application, he added, but pending civil suits against and by Black in Canada and by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission should not stall the process if he is acquitted in Chicago.

Black's most likely route to regaining his citizenship would be through spousal sponsorship.

As a Canadian citizen, Amiel would have a right of appeal a decision against her husband on a humanitarian basis, McCrea said.

The jury in the fraud case has 42 charges in all to consider - some interrelated - including 13 counts against Black, 11 against former Hollinger International executive Jack Boultbee and 10 against Peter Atkinson, as well as eight against former company lawyer Mark Kipnis.

According to U.S. statute those charges carry serious penalties - up to 20 years for each mail and wire fraud count, three to five for obstruction of justice, 20 or 30 years for racketeering and five to 10 for tax evasion.

If he's convicted of any of the charges, however, sentencing guidelines would be applied to the statute - which means any possible jail time will be "nowhere near the 80 million years people think," McNabb said.

But because Black is not a U.S. citizen, the court "may very well take him into custody at the time the jury comes back, or at sentencing" instead of letting him out on bail during his appeals.